The VinFast VF 8 (formerly named VinFast VF e35 and VinFast VF32) is a

mid-size crossover A crossover, crossover SUV, or crossover utility vehicle (CUV) is a type of automobile with an increased ride height that is built on unibody chassis construction shared with passenger cars, as opposed to traditional sport utility vehicles (S ...

electric

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

manufactured and marketed by

VinFast VinFast LLC is a Vietnamese private automotive company headquartered in Vietnam. Established in 2017, it is a member of the conglomerate organization Vingroup, that was founded by Phạm Nhật Vượng. It is the first Vietnamese car brand to ...

of Vingroup from 2022.

History

The VF 8 model made its debut in the second half of January 2021 in the electric car lineup of the Vietnamese automaker VinFast, which also served as the prelude for a planned expansion to global markets. First, VinFast will start collecting orders for the VF8 in September 2021 in the domestic Vietnamese market, delivering the first copies in February 2022. Later, VinFast plans to expand sales globally; the VF8 is scheduled to go on sale in June 2022 in markets including

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

VinFast VF8 at Hillsdale Shopping Center

In the United States, VinFast has opened six dealerships in California on July 14, 2022 showing both the VF 8 and VF 9, with deliveries planned for fall 2022. An assembly plant in Chatham County, North Carolina is planned to break ground in late summer 2022 and begin production by 2024.

Design

The VF 8 is a crossover with round proportions combining chrome ornaments with a double strip of headlamps in the front of the body. Narrow LED daytime running lights are separated by a chrome bar, under which the rest of the headlamps are located. The car was styled by

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...

; VinFast's design team was led by director David Lyons.

Interior

The dashboard has a two-colour aesthetic, distinguished by avant-garde designed switches of driving modes in the centre tunnel, as well as a large multimedia system touch display. The traditional instrument panel has been replaced by the central multimedia screen and a head-up display projected on the windshield.

Drivetrain

The VF 8 is available with multiple traction motor arrangements. In the United States, the VF 8 has a dual-motor all-wheel-drive arrangement, with output of either and ("Eco" model) or and ("Plus"). In Vietnam, the VF 8 is also available in a single-motor variant with front-wheel drive, producing and . The first batteries used in the VF 8 are from Samsung SDI. VinFast plans to add its own battery factory by August 2022. Both the "Eco" and "Plus" models are available with one of two traction battery options: "standard range", with 82 kW-hr usable, or "extended range", with 87.7 kW-hr usable (90 kW-hr gross). The estimated range depends on the powertrain and battery combination, ranging from ("Plus, standard range") to ("Eco, extended range") under the WLTP cycle. For the United States, the batteries are leased separately from the vehicle to reduce purchase costs and alleviate concerns regarding traction battery degradation. VinFast have stated they will replace a leased battery if it falls below 70% of initial capacity. Eventually, VinFast plan to offer the vehicle with a purchased battery.

References

{{VinFast Cars introduced in 2021 Crossover sport utility vehicles Mid-size sport utility vehicles Production electric cars VF e35 Battery electric vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles